Constitutional amendment not needed for creating Higher Education body – PMO

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has rejected the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s proposal to amend the Constitution for setting up the National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER). The PMO has refused amending the Constitution for setting up an independent NCHER, which will take over the academic, accreditation and financial functions of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE).

Now, after the PMO’s refusal, a Bill for setting up the NCHER will be tabled in the Parliament. After the Parliament’s clearance, the NCHER will take over the regulatory bodies. “Making changes to the Constitution of India is an extreme step. Bringing an regulatory body into existence does not require a Constitutional amendment”, a PMO source said.

The HRD Ministry had suggested the scrapping of the AICTE, UGC and NCTE. These bodies, which oversee the functioning of universities and engineering and business schools in India, have often received flak for restrictive policies and sometimes opaque functioning.The move to setup an independent NCHER is based on the recommendations of a panel setup by the government to review the functioning of the UGC, established in 1956, and the AICTE, which came into existence in 1987.

Indian Government ready with draft Foreign Varsity Bill: May be placed before Cabinet this week

The Foreign Education Providers Bill, a bill that seeks regulating the entry and operations of Foreign education providers in India, is likely to be placed before the Cabinet this week. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is ready with a draft of the Bill, sources from the Ministry said.

On the Foreign Education Providers Bill, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal argued that the government alone could not finance the educational needs of the country, and said, “There is an allocation of Rs. 85,000 crore for education in the 11th Five-Year Plan. But this is not enough. The private sector has to come. But we will have to regulate it and there will be a law for it,” he said, adding that such regulations would be done by experts and academics and “there would be no political interference at all.”

He said 160,000 Indian students go abroad every year and spend millions of dollars besides the heavy cost to the exchequer. Sibal wondered: “A student in India may be denied admission in IIT but he gets it in MIT.” As per the Bill, Foreign education providers would be given the status of deemed universities in India. This will also permit them to grant admission and award degrees, diplomas or certificates.

The Bill also proposes to bring Foreign education providers under the administrative umbrella of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which means that the admission process and fee structure of these institutes will be regulated by the UGC. Foreign education institutions and their branches in India would have to provide for reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), in keeping with the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act.

Foreign education institutions are currently not allowed to offer degree courses in India, although a 100% foreign investment is allowed in the sector. However, nearly 150 foreign institutes offer courses with Indian varsities under a twinning arrangement – part of the course in India and the remaining abroad.

Australian PM to visit India: Higher education concerns lead to economic diplomacy

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit New Delhi later this year, a minister said on Tuesday, adding that there is a “desire on the part of both India and Australia to strengthen and broaden the relationship”. Despite some “irritants”, Australia and India are embracing a closer relationship that will be cemented when Rudd visits the sub-continent later this year, The Age website reported on Tuesday.

Trade Minister Simon Crean, who returned from India at the weekend, confirmed Rudd’s trip to New Delhi would take place in November. Rudd’s visit to India is expected to take place before the APEC leaders’ summit in Singapore that begins on November 14. The government has ramped up contact with India ahead of the November trip and it is trying to take care of concerns about the safety and quality of Australia’s international education sector worth $15 billion a year.

A string of attacks had taken place on Indian students studying in Australia over the past three months. It had caused an uproar in India. Crean said there was a commitment from both India and Australia that the education issue wouldn’t derail the relationship. “(There is a) desire on the part of both India and Australia to strengthen and broaden the relationship,” he was quoted as saying. “(Indian) Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh made the point he was looking forward very much to Mr Rudd’s visit and he was looking forward to strengthened relations between the two countries.”

The two countries could also soon begin working on another avenue to strengthen economic relations – negotiations for a free trade deal, the media report said. A feasibility study on a free trade agreement was “near completion”, Crean said. “Officials will meet again next week in Delhi to try to bring that to a conclusion.”

Constitutional amendment not needed for creating Higher Education body – PMO

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has rejected the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s proposal to amend the Constitution for setting up the National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER). The PMO has refused amending the Constitution for setting up an independent NCHER, which will take over the academic, accreditation and financial functions of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE).

Now, after the PMO’s refusal, a Bill for setting up the NCHER will be tabled in the Parliament. After the Parliament’s clearance, the NCHER will take over the regulatory bodies. “Making changes to the Constitution of India is an extreme step. Bringing an regulatory body into existence does not require a Constitutional amendment”, a PMO source said.

The HRD Ministry had suggested the scrapping of the AICTE, UGC and NCTE. These bodies, which oversee the functioning of universities and engineering and business schools in India, have often received flak for restrictive policies and sometimes opaque functioning.The move to setup an independent NCHER is based on the recommendations of a panel setup by the government to review the functioning of the UGC, established in 1956, and the AICTE, which came into existence in 1987.

Constitutional amendment not needed for creating Higher Education body – PMO

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has rejected the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s proposal to amend the Constitution for setting up the National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER). The PMO has refused amending the Constitution for setting up an independent NCHER, which will take over the academic, accreditation and financial functions of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE).

Now, after the PMO’s refusal, a Bill for setting up the NCHER will be tabled in the Parliament. After the Parliament’s clearance, the NCHER will take over the regulatory bodies. “Making changes to the Constitution of India is an extreme step. Bringing an regulatory body into existence does not require a Constitutional amendment”, a PMO source said.

The HRD Ministry had suggested the scrapping of the AICTE, UGC and NCTE. These bodies, which oversee the functioning of universities and engineering and business schools in India, have often received flak for restrictive policies and sometimes opaque functioning.The move to setup an independent NCHER is based on the recommendations of a panel setup by the government to review the functioning of the UGC, established in 1956, and the AICTE, which came into existence in 1987.

>Indian Government ready with draft Foreign Varsity Bill: May be placed before Cabinet this week

>The Foreign Education Providers Bill, a bill that seeks regulating the entry and operations of Foreign education providers in India, is likely to be placed before the Cabinet this week. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is ready with a draft of the Bill, sources from the Ministry said.

On the Foreign Education Providers Bill, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal argued that the government alone could not finance the educational needs of the country, and said, “There is an allocation of Rs. 85,000 crore for education in the 11th Five-Year Plan. But this is not enough. The private sector has to come. But we will have to regulate it and there will be a law for it,” he said, adding that such regulations would be done by experts and academics and “there would be no political interference at all.”

He said 160,000 Indian students go abroad every year and spend millions of dollars besides the heavy cost to the exchequer. Sibal wondered: “A student in India may be denied admission in IIT but he gets it in MIT.” As per the Bill, Foreign education providers would be given the status of deemed universities in India. This will also permit them to grant admission and award degrees, diplomas or certificates.

The Bill also proposes to bring Foreign education providers under the administrative umbrella of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which means that the admission process and fee structure of these institutes will be regulated by the UGC. Foreign education institutions and their branches in India would have to provide for reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), in keeping with the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act.

Foreign education institutions are currently not allowed to offer degree courses in India, although a 100% foreign investment is allowed in the sector. However, nearly 150 foreign institutes offer courses with Indian varsities under a twinning arrangement – part of the course in India and the remaining abroad.

Indian Government ready with draft Foreign Varsity Bill: May be placed before Cabinet this week

The Foreign Education Providers Bill, a bill that seeks regulating the entry and operations of Foreign education providers in India, is likely to be placed before the Cabinet this week. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is ready with a draft of the Bill, sources from the Ministry said.

On the Foreign Education Providers Bill, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal argued that the government alone could not finance the educational needs of the country, and said, “There is an allocation of Rs. 85,000 crore for education in the 11th Five-Year Plan. But this is not enough. The private sector has to come. But we will have to regulate it and there will be a law for it,” he said, adding that such regulations would be done by experts and academics and “there would be no political interference at all.”

He said 160,000 Indian students go abroad every year and spend millions of dollars besides the heavy cost to the exchequer. Sibal wondered: “A student in India may be denied admission in IIT but he gets it in MIT.” As per the Bill, Foreign education providers would be given the status of deemed universities in India. This will also permit them to grant admission and award degrees, diplomas or certificates.

The Bill also proposes to bring Foreign education providers under the administrative umbrella of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which means that the admission process and fee structure of these institutes will be regulated by the UGC. Foreign education institutions and their branches in India would have to provide for reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), in keeping with the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act.

Foreign education institutions are currently not allowed to offer degree courses in India, although a 100% foreign investment is allowed in the sector. However, nearly 150 foreign institutes offer courses with Indian varsities under a twinning arrangement – part of the course in India and the remaining abroad.

>Australian PM to visit India: Higher education concerns lead to economic diplomacy

>Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit New Delhi later this year, a minister said on Tuesday, adding that there is a “desire on the part of both India and Australia to strengthen and broaden the relationship”. Despite some “irritants”, Australia and India are embracing a closer relationship that will be cemented when Rudd visits the sub-continent later this year, The Age website reported on Tuesday.

Trade Minister Simon Crean, who returned from India at the weekend, confirmed Rudd’s trip to New Delhi would take place in November. Rudd’s visit to India is expected to take place before the APEC leaders’ summit in Singapore that begins on November 14. The government has ramped up contact with India ahead of the November trip and it is trying to take care of concerns about the safety and quality of Australia‘s international education sector worth $15 billion a year.

A string of attacks had taken place on Indian students studying in Australia over the past three months. It had caused an uproar in India. Crean said there was a commitment from both India and Australia that the education issue wouldn’t derail the relationship. “(There is a) desire on the part of both India and Australia to strengthen and broaden the relationship,” he was quoted as saying. “(Indian) Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh made the point he was looking forward very much to Mr Rudd’s visit and he was looking forward to strengthened relations between the two countries.”

The two countries could also soon begin working on another avenue to strengthen economic relations – negotiations for a free trade deal, the media report said. A feasibility study on a free trade agreement was “near completion”, Crean said. “Officials will meet again next week in Delhi to try to bring that to a conclusion.”

Australian PM to visit India: Higher education concerns lead to economic diplomacy

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit New Delhi later this year, a minister said on Tuesday, adding that there is a “desire on the part of both India and Australia to strengthen and broaden the relationship”. Despite some “irritants”, Australia and India are embracing a closer relationship that will be cemented when Rudd visits the sub-continent later this year, The Age website reported on Tuesday.

Trade Minister Simon Crean, who returned from India at the weekend, confirmed Rudd’s trip to New Delhi would take place in November. Rudd’s visit to India is expected to take place before the APEC leaders’ summit in Singapore that begins on November 14. The government has ramped up contact with India ahead of the November trip and it is trying to take care of concerns about the safety and quality of Australia‘s international education sector worth $15 billion a year.

A string of attacks had taken place on Indian students studying in Australia over the past three months. It had caused an uproar in India. Crean said there was a commitment from both India and Australia that the education issue wouldn’t derail the relationship. “(There is a) desire on the part of both India and Australia to strengthen and broaden the relationship,” he was quoted as saying. “(Indian) Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh made the point he was looking forward very much to Mr Rudd’s visit and he was looking forward to strengthened relations between the two countries.”

The two countries could also soon begin working on another avenue to strengthen economic relations – negotiations for a free trade deal, the media report said. A feasibility study on a free trade agreement was “near completion”, Crean said. “Officials will meet again next week in Delhi to try to bring that to a conclusion.”